Swiss Half Fare Card, Regional Pass, or Nothing

Where are you renting the car and where will you turn it in?

A Half Fare Card only makes sense if you have over 240 CHF worth of full fare tickets.

I will be renting in Zurich and returning there as well. I have a wedding in Lake Biel and then driving to Chamonix. So that is the first leg of the trip. I just have trouble gauging the cost and use in Lugano and Lucerne. I am sure some of the gondolas around Grindelwald region will be pricey.

That is why you really need to decide what you want to do and price each to see what the cost is. You can look price without Hup the prices at www.sbb.ch/en by clicking through to get the full fare price.

Got it. What about the use on boat rides and so forth. It will show that there as well?

There is a trick to that. For instance, say you want to go from Luzern to Mt Rigi by boat to Vitznau then the cog train to the top. The SBB journey planner would normally route you by train to the other side of the mountain and up on that side. So you need to add via Vitznau and click on "advanced search". Then deselect all the train and bus boxes. Then click search and you will see all the ways by boat and the prices.

Understood. Sounds like prior to even considering that I need to really research exactly what I want to do in a lot more detail. Appreciate the help and if you have any must-dos in Lugano area, Grindelwald region or Lucerne area, would love to hear them. Thank you again.

Check out the Berner Oberland pass. We’re in a similar situation: driving from Italy to Switzerland for 5 nights in Wengen, then continuing by car to France. Based on what we plan to do, the BO pass is right for us. But you really need to decide what you want to do, then price out the various options.

https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/maps-bernese-oberland/